A 25-year NPR veteran wrote a scathing op-ed saying that his network had &#8220;lost its way,&#8221; pointing to various examples, including coverage of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender issues</a> and the refusal to use terms like &#8220;biological sex.”
In <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/npr-editor-how-npr-lost-americas-trust?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;fbclid=IwAR2BI7aGsLrw5JzADcxw-Ddx9IFpaQzQxVieieHiYiYvBozjQ3W_q8XSMoY_aem_Afb8djuPsGMotINI-8VtH0_ouA2n_5T1rMS3kvz8x_-AGiNOlKuozOh6WEdCnd1xeok&amp;triedRedirect=true">The Free Press</a> article titled, &#8220;I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust,&#8221; NPR Senior Business Editor Uri Berliner wrote that &#8220;an open-minded, curious culture prevailed,&#8221; previously — but said that had all changed and now &#8220;we don&#8217;t have an audience that reflects America.&#8221; The biggest problem he has seen at NPR is the lack of &#8220;viewpoint diversity.&#8221;
 &#8220;It&#8217;s frictionless — one story after another about instances of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad, and the dire threat of Republican policies,&#8221; Berliner said, adding that all appeared to be covered and framed in the same fashion. After George Floyd&#8217;s death, he said the message came down from the top of the network, &#8220;America&#8217;s infestation with systemic racism was declared loud and clear: it was a given.&#8221;
&#8220;In a document called NPR Transgender Coverage Guidance—disseminated by news management—we&#8217;re asked to avoid the term biological sex. (The editorial guidance was prepared with the help of a former staffer of the National Center for Transgender Equality.),&#8221; Berliner wrote. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“We could face up to where we’ve gone wrong. News organizations don’t go in for that kind of reckoning. But there’s a good reason for NPR to be the first: we’re the ones with the word ‘public’ in our name.” <a href="https://twitter.com/UriBerliner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@uriberliner</a>&#8216;s hope for a U.S. media institution. <a href="https://t.co/EclQJO838a">https://t.co/EclQJO838a</a> <a href="https://t.co/CvFfSoL3xx">pic.twitter.com/CvFfSoL3xx</a>
— The Free Press (@TheFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFP/status/1777690428608753997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;The mindset animates bizarre stories—on how <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066022789/beatles-get-back-band-guys">The Beatles</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/05/1002944505/monuments-and-teams-have-changed-names-as-america-reckons-with-racism-birds-are-">bird names</a> are racially problematic, and others that are alarmingly divisive; <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178/one-authors-argument-in-defense-of-looting">justifying looting</a>, with claims that fears about <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/08/1134550280/stories-about-crime-are-rife-with-misinformation-and-racism-critics-say">crime are racist</a>; and suggesting that Asian Americans who oppose affirmative action have been <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/02/1183981097/affirmative-action-asian-americans-poc">manipulated by</a> white conservatives,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;More recently, we have approached the Israel-Hamas war and its spillover onto streets and campuses through the &#8216;intersectional&#8217; lens that has jumped from the faculty lounge to newsrooms,&#8221; the NPR veteran continued. &#8220;That&#8217;s meant highlighting the suffering of Palestinians at almost every turn while downplaying the atrocities of October 7, overlooking how Hamas intentionally puts Palestinian civilians in peril, and giving little weight to the explosion of antisemitic hate around the world.&#8221;
He pointed to NPR&#8217;s wall-to-wall coverage coverage during former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-im-giving-money-to-donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump’</a>s presidency of the now-debunked Russiagate. The editor said that the network&#8217;s response when the story fell apart was to pretend it never happened and to offer no &#8220;mea culpas, no self-reflection&#8221; even though they perpetuate the culture that &#8220;shatters trust and engenders cynicism about the media.&#8221;
Berliner wrote that NPR also &#8220;turned a blind eye” during the 2020 election to President Joe Biden’s son, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-biden-called-father-from-lavish-russian-party-asked-for-help-getting-deal-over-the-finish-line-ex-associate-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden&#8217;</a>s laptop, which he argued was newsworthy. &#8220;Its contents revealed his connection to the corrupt world of multimillion-dollar influence peddling and its possible implications for his father.&#8221;
He also looked critically at the network&#8217;s coverage of COVID-19 and said that its utter failure to consider anything other than the prevailing narrative — that the virus had to have come from nature — and its choice to completely ignore the “lab leak theory&#8221; was just another example of how the network had &#8220;lost its way.&#8221;

US-BUSINESS-NPR

‘We Lost America’s Trust’: NPR Veteran Says Network Has ‘Lost Its Way’

'We Lost America's Trust': NPR Veteran Says Network Has ‘Lost Its Way' 

Celebrities

COVID-19

Donald Trump

Entertainment

Hamas

Hunter Biden

Israel

Transgenders

ESPN sports host Pat McAfee announced on Wednesday that the weekly guest appearance by New York quarterback Aaron Rodgers was &#8220;done&#8221; for the rest of the NFL season.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/aaron-rodgers-out-pat-mcafee-show-1235784620/#recipient_hashed=c4a236882474dc7ac6971f2bc441c58c92e90e854f8e395397c9cd7c538f70cb&amp;recipient_salt=e43afbd379e85fd519ba7694a78f59ae298fad42d1a1cf5286bd63eff76355c7">McAfee</a> made the comments on Wednesday during &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/dhookstead/status/1745143238803996977?s=20">The Pat McAfee Show</a>” when he said &#8220;&#8216;Aaron Rodgers&#8217; Tuesday Season 4 is done&#8221; and said he personally was happy about it.
&#8220;There could be a lot of people that are happy with that,&#8221; McAfee said. &#8220;Myself included, to be honest with you. The way it ended, it got real loud, real loud. I&#8217;m happy that is not going to be my mentions going forward, which is great news.&#8221;
The sports host said he was ready to move on from this situation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pat McAfee says Aaron Rodgers is done appearing on the show for the rest of the NFL season.
Admits people behind the scenes at ESPN have major problems with him, but he&#8217;s continuing to push forward.
Says he will never give up control of his show. <a href="https://t.co/1MKFV5K4JS">pic.twitter.com/1MKFV5K4JS</a>
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) <a href="https://twitter.com/dhookstead/status/1745143238803996977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer,&#8221; he added. &#8220;He&#8217;s a four-time MVP. He&#8217;s a massive piece of the NFL story whenever you go back and tell it. He will be a huge part of it. We are very lucky to get a chance to chat with him and learn from him. Some of his thoughts and opinions do piss off a lot of people. I&#8217;m pumped that that is no longer every single Wednesday of my life, which it has been for the last few weeks.&#8221;
&#8220;On Friday I obviously threw us into the fire as well,&#8221; McAfee admitted after he claimed that a top ESPN executive, Norby Williamson, was &#8220;attempting to sabotage&#8221; his show. &#8220;I forever stand by that. Everything else, though, just can&#8217;t do that and not what we want to be known for.&#8221;
It comes after late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel threatened to sue the Jets QB — who suggested that Kimmel could be on the client list of convicted sex offender <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein">Jeffrey Epstein</a>. The comments were made during Rodgers&#8217; weekly appearance on McAfee show on January 2, 2024.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that [client list] doesn&#8217;t come out,&#8221; the NFL star said, adding, &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.&#8221;
Kimmel reposted the clip and wrote on <a href="https://x.com/jimmykimmel/status/1742324477323833546?s=20">X</a>, &#8220;Dear Asshole: for the record, I&#8217;ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any &#8216;list&#8217; other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can&#8217;t seem to distinguish from reality.&#8221;
&#8220;Your reckless words put my family in danger,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court. [Aaron Rodgers].&#8221; 

The late-night host then mocked Rodgers on &#8220;<a href="https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-aaron-rodgers-karen-jeffrey-epstein-list-1235865944/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jimmy Kimmel Live!</a>&#8221; calling Rodgers &#8220;a hamster-brained man&#8221; and saying that the QB &#8220;is too arrogant to know how ignorant he is.&#8221;
Kimmel said that Rodgers is allowed to have his own opinion, but added a caveat: &#8220;saying someone is a pedophile is not an opinion, nor is it trash talk&#8221; because &#8220;the truth still matters.&#8221; 
On Tuesday&#8217;s <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/aaron-rodgers-says-never-called-195934374.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McAfee show</a>, Rodgers responded to Kimmel and said he didn&#8217;t think Kimmel was a pedophile.
&#8220;I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be,&#8221; Rodgers said. &#8220;So for him to be upset about that, I get it.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not stupid enough, even though you think I&#8217;m an idiot and you&#8217;ve made a lot of comments about my intelligence, but I&#8217;m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero concrete evidence,&#8221; he added. &#8220;That&#8217;s ridiculous.&#8221;

Aaron Rodgers

Pat McAfee Says Aaron Rodgers ‘Done’ On Show For Rest Of NFL Season

ESPN

Jimmy Kimmel

New York Jets

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief White House medical adviser and former director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), saying he should “take some responsibility for funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan,” while saying &#8220;what you’ve done is change the definition on your website to try to cover your a**.&#8221;
“I don’t expect you today to admit that you approved of NIH funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan, but your repeated denials have worn thin and a majority of Americans frankly, don’t believe you,” Paul began. “Even the NIH now admits that EcoHealth Alliance (the non-profit that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/09/covid-origins-gain-of-function-research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collaborated</a> with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the nearby Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment) did perform experiments in Wuhan that created viruses not found in nature that actually did gain in lethality. The facts are clear: The NIH did fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan, despite your protestations.”
In September 2021, The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/09/covid-origins-gain-of-function-research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> evidence showing that the EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the nearby Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment had engaged in gain-of-function research “intentionally making viruses more pathogenic or transmissible in order to study them &#8230; grant money for the controversial experiment came from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is headed by Anthony Fauci.&#8221;
“Your persistent denials, though, are not simply a stain on your reputation, but are a clear and present danger to the country and to the world,” Paul stated.
Later in the confrontation, Paul asked, “Will you today, finally take some responsibility for funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan?”
“Senator, with all due respect, I disagree with so many of the things that you said. First of all, gain-of-function is a very nebulous term; we have spent, not us, but outside bodies, a considerable amount of effort to give a more precise definition to the type of research that is of concern that might lead to a dangerous situation. You are aware of that; that is called P3CO,” Fauci answered.
“We’re aware that you deleted gain-of-function from the NIH website,” Paul interjected.
“Well, I can get back to that in a moment if we have time, but let’s get back to the operating framework and guiderails of which we operate under,” Fauci deflected. “And you have ignored them. the guidelines are very, very clear: that you have to be dealing with a pathogen that clearly is shown and very likely to be highly transmissible in an uncontrollable way in humans and to have a high degree of morbidity and mortality and that you do experiments to enhance that, hence the word EPPP: enhanced pathogens potential pandemic.”
Paul pointed out that EcoHealth Alliance took a virus and combined it with WIV-1 to cause a “recombinant virus that doesn’t exist in nature,” adding, “and it made mice sicker — mice that had humanized cells — you’re saying that’s not gain-of-function research?”
“According to the framework and guidelines —” Fauci responded.
“So what you’re doing is defining away gain-of-function; you’re simply saying it doesn’t exist cause you changed the definition on the NIH website,” Paul accused. “This is terrible, and you’re completely trying to escape the idea that we should do something about trying to prevent a pandemic from leaking from a lab. The preponderance of evidence now points toward this coming from a lab, and what you’ve done is change the definition on your website to try to cover your a** basically. That’s what you’ve done; you’ve changed the website to have a new definition that doesn’t include the risky research that’s going on. Until you admit that it’s risky, we’re not gonna get anywhere. You have to admit that this research was risky. The NIH has now rebuked them. Your own agency has rebuked them. But the thing is you’re still unwilling to admit that they gained in function when they say that became sicker; they gained in lethality. It’s a new virus. That’s not gain-of-function?”
“According to the definition that’s currently operable &#8230; the current definition was done over a two to three-year period by outside bodies, including the NSABB, two conferences by the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine on December 2014, March 2016. We commissioned external risk-benefit assessment, and then on January of 2017, the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the White House issued the current policy,” Fauci said.
Paul then pointed out: “And coincidentally, the definition appeared on the same day that the NIH said that yes, there was a gain-of-function in Wuhan; the same day the definition appeared; the new definition to try to define away what’s going on in Wuhan. Until you accept it, we’re not going to get responsibility; we’re not going to get anywhere close to trying to prevent another lab leak of this dangerous sort of experiment.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JBqXYpO1QpE?si=CU_okvaBbSABEgeA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-HOMELAND-SECURITY

Trying To ‘Cover Your A**’: Rand Paul Charges Fauci With Attempting To Change Definition Of Gain-Of-Function Research

Anthony Fauci

Rand Paul

Wuhan Institute of Virology

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit back at journalists who he said are still upset he didn&#8217;t take the COVID-19 vaccine.
During Rodgers&#8217; latest appearance on &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/EricAbbenante/status/1739921138728235027?s=20">The Pat McAfee Show</a>,&#8221; the host <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/rodgers-bawden-roster-criticism-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Rodgers about sports journalists calling him out for taking up a roster spot on the team rather than being placed on the injured reserve list [IR] after he tore his Achilles tendon in the first game of the season.
&#8220;The same people who are criticizing me or coming up with these conspiracies about my injury, before they talk, let&#8217;s go back to 2021 and let&#8217;s make people say their vax status to start,&#8221; Rodgers said, adding that it &#8220;would frame all these comments in the right window.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Aaron Rodgers dropped &#8216;Mass Formation Psychosis&#8217; on ESPN 🤣 
&#8220;They&#8217;re still mad I&#8217;m covid MVP. Not just the two MVP&#8217;s that I won but also: I didn&#8217;t bow down to the Medical Industrial Complex and the Mass Formation Psychosis and I decided to make a decision that was in the best… <a href="https://t.co/kyzvm5lrdb">pic.twitter.com/kyzvm5lrdb</a>
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricAbbenante/status/1739921138728235027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Let&#8217;s have them say, &#8216;Hey, I&#8217;m so-and-so, double vaxxed with Pfizer and triple boosted. And my opinion about this is this guy&#8217;s a bad guy because he just wanted to practice and took money away,'&#8221; he added. &#8220;Then at least you&#8217;d know, and everybody could know at that point that they have their puppet masters who are puppeteering them to say this certain thing about this guy and that they&#8217;re still upset about the fact that I believe in medical freedom.&#8221;
Rodgers said these journalists are &#8220;still mad I&#8217;m COVID MVP. Not just the two MVPs that I won because I didn&#8217;t bow down to the medical industrial complex and the mass formation psychosis and I decided to make a decision that was in the best interest of my health.&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re still trying to get their jabs in,&#8221; he added. &#8220;They&#8217;re still trying to take a victory lap you know that somehow I couldn&#8217;t beat science this time. Take it easy on the victory laps and have another jab while you&#8217;re at it.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-takes-another-swipe-at-fauci-amid-talk-about-achilles-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rodgers</a> ended up returning to the practice field in December. He previously talked about the &#8220;newer, innovative&#8221; surgery he had undergone in hopes of returning faster and his hopes of <a href="https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/aaron-rodgers-wants-to-return-2023-season-achilles-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coming back</a> to play this season, but in the <a href="https://www.ksbw.com/article/ny-jets-qb-rodgers-will-return-next-season/46182430#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">end</a>, he didn&#8217;t make it.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-says-hes-been-cast-as-the-villain-over-covid-stance">Rodgers</a> made headlines in 2021 when he was accused of misleading comments about his vaccination status, saying he was “immunized.” However, it was later revealed that he had not been vaccinated.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-takes-another-swipe-at-fauci-amid-talk-about-achilles-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Rodgers Takes Another Swipe At Fauci Amid Talk About Achilles Injury</a>

‘I Didn’t Bow Down’: Aaron Rodgers Slams Journalists Who He Says Are Still Upset He Didn’t Take COVID Jab

Green Bay Packers

vaccine

A Heritage Foundation-linked group is suing the CIA over records of its investigation into COVID-19 after a whistleblower said analysts were paid to change their conclusions.
The Oversight Project, a government watchdog launched by the Heritage Foundation, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the CIA last week. The lawsuit seeks to compel the agency to produce records of its investigation into the origins of COVID-19, according to a copy of the suit obtained by <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/26/heritage-foundation-sues-cia-covid-records/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Caller</a>.
“This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (‘FOIA’), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to compel production of CIA records relating to allegations that members of the CIA’s COVID Discovery Team, a group of employees tasked with analyzing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, received monetary incentives to change their position on the origins of the virus,” the suit says.
The Oversight Project began seeking CIA records after a whistleblower testified to Congress that the agency offered payment to its analysts to change their findings about COVID-19’s origin. The CIA’s official finding about the origin of the illness are inconclusive.
Assessments from the Energy Department and the FBI <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/us/politics/covid-pandemic-lab-leak-intelligence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a leak from a lab in Wuhan, China, is the most likely origin of the virus. Five other agencies said the disease likely spread first from natural transmission, or that it spread to humans from animals through a wet market or some other vector.
House investigators into the origins of COVID-19 <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/testimony-from-cia-whistleblower-alleges-new-information-on-covid-19-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in September that a senior-level CIA officer has said the agency offered money to its COVID investigators to change their conclusions. Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have requested more information from the CIA regarding its investigation.
“According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,” Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who chairs the subcommittee, and Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, who chairs the Intelligence committee, said in a statement.
Oversight Project chief counsel Kyle Brosnan said the CIA and Biden administration are refusing to turn over important information about the origins of COVID-19.
“A CIA whistleblower has made serious allegations that the agency bought off employees of the agency to further obstruct efforts to get to the truth of the virus’s origins. This obstruction cannot stand and we’re fighting in federal court to get to the bottom of this,” Brosnan said, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/12/26/news/cia-accused-of-hiding-payments-to-bury-covid-lab-leak-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>.

CIA Sued Over COVID Records After Allegations Of ‘Monetary Incentives’ Paid To ‘Change’ Findings

Heritage Foundation

U.S. officials began expressing concern this week about a new outbreak in respiratory illnesses in China that have sent a surge of children to the hospital.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-hospitals-children-pneumonia-respiratory-illness-who-data-rcna126480">reported</a> that the outbreak in northern China has caused hospitals to become &#8220;overwhelmed with sick children,&#8221; according to ProMED, a publicly available reporting system for emerging diseases and outbreaks.
The news comes after COVID-19 began spreading in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and in the span of a couple months threw the entire world into a global pandemic that killed millions and was used by governments to implement draconian measures.
&#8220;China&#8217;s recent pneumonia outbreak raises serious questions, and the World Health Organization is asking them,&#8221; said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.
&#8220;It&#8217;s time to abandon COVID deception and delays as transparent and timely information saves lives,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Full cooperation with the international community is not an option, it&#8217;s a public health imperative. Will Beijing step up?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
China&#39;s recent pneumonia outbreak raises serious questions, and the World Health Organization is asking them. It&#39;s time to abandon COVID deception and delays as transparent and timely information saves lives. Full cooperation with the international community is not an option,…
&mdash; ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAmbJapan/status/1727876844844695835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NBC News said that it witnessed long lines and crowded waiting rooms at Beijing Children’s Hospital.
&#8220;Since mid-October 2023, WHO has been monitoring data from Chinese surveillance systems that have been showing an increase in respiratory illness in children in northern China,&#8221; the WHO said in a statement. &#8220;Today, WHO held a teleconference with Chinese health authorities in which they provided requested data on respiratory illnesses among children in Northern China.&#8221;
&#8220;The data indicates an increase in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions of children due to Mycoplasma pneumonia since May, and RSV, adenovirus and influenza virus since October,&#8221; the WHO continued. &#8220;Some of these increases are earlier in the season than historically experienced, but not unexpected given the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, as similarly experienced in other countries.&#8221;
The COVID-19 pandemic was marked by lying and deception from communist China about the origins of the coronavirus as well as attempts to cover it up. The World Health Organization (WHO) was also accused not being forthcoming with what it knew about the coronavirus and of trying to cover for China.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
In early January 2020, the WHO regurgitated Chinese propaganda that falsely claimed that there was no evidence that COVID-19 could be transmitted &#8220;human-to-human.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#coronavirus</a> (2019-nCoV) identified in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wuhan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wuhan</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a>🇨🇳. <a href="https://t.co/Fnl5P877VG">pic.twitter.com/Fnl5P877VG</a>
&mdash; World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Respiratory Disease Hit Children

U.S. Sounds The Alarm After New Chinese ‘Pneumonia Outbreak Raises Serious Questions’

China

COVID

Health

World

“Star Trek” actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Wil Wheaton</a> recently explained why he feels compelled to keep wearing a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/face-mask">mask</a> in certain public settings even though people act like “d*cks” about it.
The 51-year-old took to social media, saying “someone asked why [my wife] Anne and I wear masks to hockey games, and because they weren&#8217;t a d*ck about it, I answered them.”
Wheaton said he was posting his full reply for future reference.
“<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">Covid</a> is very much still A Thing, and so is the flu, the common cold, and other respiratory illnesses,” he began a lengthy Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/itswilwheaton">post</a>. 
“I started masking during the pandemic, because I didn&#8217;t want to get sick and die. I have kept masking when I&#8217;m in close proximity to other people, large crowds, or small indoor spaces because I haven&#8217;t had the flu or a cold or, gods forbid, Covid, since I made that choice.”
He continued, “It&#8217;s such a tiny, simple, thing and it makes a huge difference for me. It&#8217;s too bad that so many people have decided to make another personal health choice that is none of their business, that doesn&#8217;t affect them at all, just another part of their culture war. And it tells you everything you need to know about a person when they are a d*ck about it.”
Wheaton went on to describe a fellow hockey game attendee who was “coughing and sneezing his face off” during the game, which he presented as a good reason to be wearing a mask. “That&#8217;s basically why I wear a mask whenever I&#8217;m in a crowd, and why I wish it wasn&#8217;t such a big stupid deal (pro or against),” he added.
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Next, he said people appreciate his masking. “I see a lot of thank yous for wearing masks in our photos. I appreciate the kindness, but we aren&#8217;t making a statement. We aren&#8217;t modeling behavior. We are doing what is best for us, period. This isn&#8217;t a statement, it&#8217;s just a personal health choice. If it helps normalize the entire thing, I&#8217;m happy for that passive bonus, but it&#8217;s not something I&#8217;m spending an action or even a bonus action on,” he wrote.
Finally, Wheaton compared masking to wearing shoes. 
He wrote, “I haven&#8217;t heard someone complain that I wear shoes into a restaurant, and I haven&#8217;t ever had someone thank me for wearing shoes in a restaurant. I hope it will be the same with masks, sooner than later. It&#8217;s nobody&#8217;s business, and the only people who are d*cks about it are d*cks about everything else, anyway.”
&#8220;I&#8217;m just tired of this being not just A Thing, but A Big Stupid F***ing Culture War Thing,” the actor concluded. “So. Mind your business, do what&#8217;s best for your health and in consideration of the health of those around you, and don&#8217;t be a d*ck.”

Wil Wheaton

Actor Wil Wheaton Explains Why He Still Wears A Mask In Public: ‘Covid Is Very Much Still A Thing’

Actor Wil Wheaton Explains Why He Still Wears A Mask In Public: 'Covid Is Very Much Still A Thing'

Masking

U.S.

New York Jets quarterback <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aaron-rodgers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Rodgers</a> took another swipe at Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday amid a discussion about how long his football injury would sideline him following speculation that his rehab could be ahead of schedule.
During Rodgers&#8217;s weekly <a href="https://www.outkick.com/aaron-rodgers-fauci-defying-science-pat-mcafee-show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appearance</a> on &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1714333873625051446?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Pat McAfee Show</a>,&#8221; he was asked about footage showing him throwing a few passes without crutches after he tore his Achilles tendon in the first game of the season.
Rodgers said he tried &#8220;a newer, innovative&#8221; surgery to return faster than others who sustained a similar injury.
Co-host AJ Hawk said that Rodgers does things &#8220;his own way,&#8221; to which McAfee replied, &#8220;This guy does things his own way. He actually defies science.&#8221;
&#8220;If science is Dr. Fauci, you&#8217;re damn right I&#8217;m defying science,&#8221; Rodgers replied, as the hosts laughed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;If science is Dr. Fauci, you&#8217;re damn right I&#8217;m defying science.&#8221;
Aaron Rodgers with another swipe at Dr. Anthony Fauci on The Pat McAfee Show <a href="https://t.co/ul0FRubZus">pic.twitter.com/ul0FRubZus</a>
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) <a href="https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1714333873625051446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
Last week, Rodgers labeled Fauci a &#8220;pharmocrat&#8221; and threw down the gauntlet for a &#8220;duel&#8221; or vaccine debate to Chiefs&#8217; player Travis Kelce, who he&#8217;s nicknamed &#8220;Mr. Pfizer&#8221; after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end appeared in a Pfizer ad campaign.
On the <a href="https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1711807257405509951?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> last week, the hosts talked to Rodgers about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/travis-kelce-responds-to-aaron-rodgers-calling-him-mr-pfizer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelce&#8217;s recent comment</a> about getting &#8220;into the vax wars&#8221; with the Jets QB.
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&#8220;Mr. Pfizer said he didn&#8217;t think he&#8217;d be in a vax war with me,&#8221; Rodgers said. &#8220;This ain&#8217;t a war homie, this is conversation.&#8221;
&#8220;But if you want to have some sort of duel, debate, have me on the podcast,&#8221; he added, referencing Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce&#8217;s popular podcast &#8220;New Heights.&#8221;
&#8220;Come on the show!&#8221; Rodgers continued, mentioning McAfee&#8217;s show. &#8220;Let&#8217;s have a conversation. Let&#8217;s do it like in &#8216;John Wick 4,&#8217; so we both have a second, somebody to help us out.&#8221; Rodgers said his &#8220;second&#8221; would be independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and said the Kansas City Chiefs star could have Fauci or &#8220;some other pharmocrat.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-says-hes-been-cast-as-the-villain-over-covid-stance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rodgers</a> made headlines in 2021 when he was accused of misleading comments about his vaccination status, saying he was &#8220;immunized.&#8221; However, it was later revealed that he had not been vaccinated.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-throws-down-the-gauntlet-for-a-vax-duel-to-mr-pfizer-travis-kelce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Rodgers Throws Down The Gauntlet For A Vax &#8216;Duel&#8217; To &#8216;Mr. Pfizer&#8217; Travis Kelce</a>

Aaron Rodgers. FP

Aaron Rodgers Takes Another Swipe At Fauci Amid Talk About Achilles Injury

Sports

Scores for the ACT standardized test sank to the lowest level in more than three decades for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education">high school</a> class of 2023, new data shows, the latest indicator that students are still struggling to combat the effects of pandemic learning loss.
The average composite score on the ACT was 19.5 out of 36, the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/11/act-test-scores-lowest-2023?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowest</a> score since 1991, the nonprofit that administers the test <a href="https://leadershipblog.act.org/2023/10/act-scores-decline.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Tuesday.
Average scores on the college preparatory test&#8217;s English, math, reading, and science sections all declined, with English scores dipping slightly more than the others.
ACT scores have been declining since before the pandemic — this year marks the sixth consecutive year scores have fallen. However, since the pandemic, more students are not meeting subject matter benchmarks, meaning their scores suggest they would not be able to get Bs or Cs in entry-level college coursework.
About 43% of high school seniors who took the ACT last year did not meet any of the subject matter benchmarks, up from 36% in 2019. Only 21% of students met all four subject benchmarks.
&#8220;The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success in college and career,&#8221; <a href="https://leadershipblog.act.org/2023/10/act-scores-decline.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the ACT nonprofit&#8217;s CEO Janet Godwin.
The 1.4 million test takers were high school freshmen when the pandemic hit, disrupting their education with many months of remote learning. Since the pandemic, students across the nation have suffered significant learning loss and, in many cases, are struggling to perform at their grade level.
Math scores <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/math-scores-dropped-in-every-state-during-pandemic-report-card-shows-11666584062?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummeted</a> among fourth and eighth graders in almost every state, the Education Department reported last year. Reading scores have also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-fourth-graders-cant-read-one-phoenix-school-has-a-new-way-to-fight-pandemic-learning-loss-11633818431?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sunk across</a> the country, erasing the previous three decades of progress. Many students returned to classrooms last year reading at the same level as when the pandemic started, putting them two grade levels behind.
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Last year, eighth graders had the lowest U.S. history scores on record and among the lowest civics scores, the Department of Education revealed in May. Only about 13% of eighth graders met proficiency <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ushistory/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">standards</a> for U.S. history last year, and only about <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/civics/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fifth</a> of students were proficient or better in civics.
Exacerbating the problem, students in fourth through eighth grade are actually making slower academic progress now than before the pandemic, a study released over the summer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kids-progressing-even-slower-in-reading-math-now-than-before-pandemic-new-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a>, dashing hopes that kids would learn faster to make up for learning loss.
Early evidence of learning loss spurred parents across the country to demand schools return to in-person learning, especially after data showed that children were at low risk for serious cases of COVID.
Some parents even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-moms-and-dads-taking-over-school-boards-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran for school board</a> positions and won, hoping to stop the learning loss in their district.

FRANCE-EDUCATION-BAC

ACT Test Scores Dip To Lowest Level In More Than 30 Years

Education

Pandemic

Remote Learning

Testing

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secretly escorted former chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci into its headquarters to &#8220;influence&#8221; the COVID-19 origins investigation, according to Republican lawmakers.
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) said in a <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023.09.26-SSCP-Letter-to-HHS-OIG-Re.-AF-Movements.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> addressed to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Christi Grimm that according to new information gathered by lawmakers, Dr. Anthony Fauci, then-director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), played a role in the CIA&#8217;s review of the origins of COVID-19.
&#8220;The information provided suggests that Dr. Fauci was escorted into [CIA] Headquarters — without a record of entry — and participated in the analysis to &#8216;influence&#8217; the Agency&#8217;s review,&#8221; Wenstrup wrote. &#8220;Our goal is to ensure the scientific investigative process regarding the origins of COVID-19 was fair, impartial, and free of alternative influence.&#8221;
Fauci&#8217;s alleged visit to the George Bush Center for Intelligence headquarters in Langley, Virginia, did not have a date attached to Wenstrup&#8217;s letter, nor did the subcommittee Chairman disclose who provided the information to the panel.
Wenstrup requested Grimm make Special Agent Brett Rowland available for a voluntary transcribed interview and all documents and communications between federal agencies, including HHS, NIAID, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
&#8220;The American people deserve the truth — to know the origins of the virus and whether there was a concerted effort by public health authorities to suppress the lab leak theory for political or national security purposes,&#8221; Wenstrup wrote.
The allegations come after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-whistleblower-alleges-federal-agency-paid-covid-discovery-team-to-alter-wuhan-lab-findings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whistleblower testimony</a> to the subcommittee claimed CIA officials paid six officers investigating the origins of COVID-19 to bury their conclusion that the virus likely originated from a Chinese lab.
Wenstrup and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) wrote that an anonymous &#8220;highly credible senior-level CIA&#8221; official alleged that six members with &#8220;significant scientific expertise&#8221; in the federal agency tasked with investigating the roots of SARS-CoV-2 found that the virus likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory.
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&#8220;According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,&#8221; the representatives wrote.
But after the officers concluded their findings, the CIA whistleblower claims the intelligence agency offered financial incentives to six of the seven experts involved in the investigation to change their narrative on the virus, according to a letter sent to CIA Director William Burns.
&#8220;The seventh member of the Team, who also happened to be the most senior, was the lone officer to believe COVID-19 originated through zoonosis,&#8221; the letter continued. &#8220;The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position.&#8221;
Questions about whether the virus leaked out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology or spread worldwide after the virus transmitted from animals to humans still divide U.S. agencies today.
The Department of Energy and the FBI were among the first federal agencies earlier this year to assess with moderate confidence that the pandemic&#8217;s origins were most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.
But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified a long-awaited report in June about potential links between the Chinese lab and the origins of COVID, which stated three lab workers who became ill in 2019 could not be directly linked to the source of the pandemic as their symptoms were &#8220;consistent with but not diagnostic of COVID-19.&#8221;
Fauci, who led the COVID-19 response team for the White House in the Trump and Biden administrations, remains at the center of a conspiracy about the virus&#8217;s origins. He has publicly dismissed the lab leak theory since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Earlier this year, the coronavirus subcommittee pressed Fauci about U.S. funding to the Wuhan lab after it reportedly emerged the NIH gave U.S.-based EcoHealth Alliance a $3.7 million grant in 2014, which approximately $600,000 went toward the Wuhan lab to study bat coronaviruses.
Fauci previously claimed the U.S. never spent money on virus research in a lab. But during an interview with <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/anthony-fauci-becoming-devil-and-warning-his-successor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Science</a> published on Monday, he appeared to have shifted his response about alleged funding for the specific gain-of-function research.
&#8220;I had no idea the grant to [EcoHealth and the Wuhan lab] existed until all this exploded,&#8221; Fauci said. &#8220;It&#8217;s $121,000-a-year grant, and I had a $6 billion portfolio.
&#8220;So, when I said to my people, &#8216;Tell me what&#8217;s going on,&#8217; they said. &#8216;This is the guidelines, and by no definition whatsoever is that gain-of-function of concern.&#8217; Now, people are saying maybe those guidelines are a little too loose. My feeling is, absolutely, you should reexamine that, and if you want to change it, change it.&#8221;

Health Chiefs Testify To Senate HELP Committee On Covid-19 Response

Fauci Secretly Met With CIA About COVID To ‘Influence’ Origins Investigation, House Subcommittee Says

Fauci Secretly Met With CIA About COVID To 'Influence' Origins Investigation, House Subcommittee Says

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WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted that any allegation that his organization was close to China was an “outright lie.”
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<div>
Tedros was <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/who-chief-denies-he-sided-with-china-at-start-of-covid-outright-lie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> by National Review reporter Jimmy Quinn if he regretted his initial handling of Covid, as concerns had been expressed that he had hewed too close to Beijing&#8217;s line.
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“At one point or the other, we had issues with many countries,” Tedros responded. “If we had issues with many countries, it means maybe we’re doing the right thing. But the allegation that we’re close to China or something is an outright lie, actually.”
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“People who try to build narratives, they say that,” he continued. “But from what happened, start from there, and until now, if you’ll see all the relationships we had with countries, and some of the misunderstandings with countries, sometimes with this country the other opposite allegation with the other, it’s because we focus on science.”
</div>
<div>
In June 2022, it was <a href="https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus/193248/who-boss-secretly-blames-china-lab-for-covid-leak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Tedros &#8220;privately believes the Covid pandemic started following a leak from a Chinese laboratory,&#8221; according to a top government official. &#8220;While publicly the group maintains that ‘all hypotheses remain on the table’ about the origins of Covid, the source said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), had recently confided to a senior European politician that the most likely explanation was a catastrophic accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, where infections first spread in late 2019.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
In May 2020, a <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/corona-ausbruch-vertuscht-muss-china-fuer-die-pandemie-schaeden-zahlen-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000170816271" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report from Der Spiegel</a> claimed WHO officials communicated with the Chinese government, and might have deliberately delayed giving other countries critical information about the spread of the novel coronavirus after being pressured by China and its president, Xi Jinping.
</div>
<div>
The report claimed that BND, the German Federal Intelligence Service, discovered that &#8220;Xi met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on January 21&#8221; and asked WHO to delay reporting accurate information about the novel coronavirus, The Daily Caller reported.
</div>
<div>
WHO called the report “unfounded and untrue,&#8221; saying that the two had never spoken over phone.
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</div>
<div></div>
<div>
Later, Tedros praised China, saying he appreciated the information the communist country provided to WHO.
&#8220;If you remember at the initial stage, you remember about the sequence, they provided the sequence immediately, and we appreciated that they shared the sequence of the virus Sars-CoV-2 immediately. And then there were other things like especially the measures they were taking on Wuhan to slow the speed of the spread to the rest of the world. And we identified that and we encouraged them to do that, because slowing the spread is very important,&#8221; he said.
</div>

SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-VIRUS-WHO

‘Outright Lie’: World Health Organization Chief Denies Hewing To China’s Line

World Health Organization

New whistleblower testimony to Congress alleges the Central Intelligence Agency bribed six officers investigating the origins of COVID-19 with hush money to bury their conclusion that the virus likely originated from a Chinese lab.
U.S. House lawmakers on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/testimony-from-cia-whistleblower-alleges-new-information-on-covid-19-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Tuesday that an anonymous &#8220;highly credible senior-level CIA&#8221; official alleged that six members with &#8220;significant scientific expertise&#8221; in the federal agency tasked with investigating the roots of SARS-CoV-2 found that the virus likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory.
&#8220;According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,&#8221; House panel chairmen reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Mike Turner (R-OH) wrote.
But after the officers concluded their findings, the CIA whistleblower claims the intelligence agency offered financial incentives to six of the seven experts involved in the investigation to change their narrative on the virus, according to a letter sent Tuesday to CIA Director William Burns.
&#8220;The seventh member of the Team, who also happened to be the most senior, was the lone officer to believe COVID-19 originated through zoonosis,&#8221; the letter continued. &#8220;The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position.&#8221;
The committee sent a separate letter to former CIA chief operating officer Andrew Markridis, requesting that he participate in a &#8220;voluntary transcribed interview&#8221; on September 26, 2023. According to the whistleblower, Markridis &#8220;played a central role&#8221; in the formation and conclusion of the COVID investigation.
Markridis retired from the agency in 2022 after concluding his agency&#8217;s response to COVID.
Lawmakers also set a deadline on the same day for the CIA to turn over all records regarding the establishment of the COVID Discovery Teams, pay history that includes the awarding of any financial or performance-based incentive/financial bonuses, and all communications from those teams with all members of federal government agencies, including the FBI, State Department, Health and Human Services, Energy Department.
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The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/us/politics/china-lab-leak-coronavirus-pandemic.html">Department of Energy</a> and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/28/politics/wray-fbi-covid-origins-lab-china/index.html">FBI</a> were among the first federal agencies earlier this year to assess with moderate confidence that the pandemic&#8217;s origins were most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified a long-awaited <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Report-on-Potential-Links-Between-the-Wuhan-Institute-of-Virology-and-the-Origins-of-COVID-19-20230623.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> in June about potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of COVID. The report found that three lab workers who became ill in 2019 could not be directly linked the source of the pandemic as their symptoms were &#8220;consistent with but not diagnostic of COVID-19.&#8221;
&#8220;The I.C. has no information, however, indicating that any [Wuhan Institute of Virology] genetic engineering work has involved SARS-CoV-2, a close progenitor, or a backbone virus that is closely related enough to have been the source of the pandemic,&#8221; the report said.
But Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/04/18/ex-dni-john-ratcliffe-calls-covid-lab-leak-only-explanation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before Congress in April that &#8220;a lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science, and by common sense.&#8221;
&#8220;If our intelligence and evidence supporting a lab leak was placed side by side with our intelligence and evidence pointing to a natural origins or spillover theory, the lab leak side of the ledger would be long, convincing, even overwhelming — while the spillover side would be nearly empty and tenuous,&#8221; added Ratcliffe.

US-CIA

CIA Whistleblower Alleges Federal Agency Paid COVID Discovery Team To Alter Wuhan Lab Findings

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